Centurion Lounge Food Is Getting Called 'Mid.' The Chef Names Aren't a Defense

Analysis and opinion · Sources checked October 5, 2026.

A famous chef's name can get you excited about dinner. It cannot rescue the serving you decide you don't want to finish.

That is the awkward gap in the Centurion Lounge food argument. American Express has serious culinary credentials behind the program. Some travelers are still leaving hungry, unimpressed or wondering why the marketing sounded so much better than lunch.

The complaints are specific

In a July 6, 2026 Reddit discussion about lounge quality, a traveler criticized the food at JFK while saying the Heathrow lounge's food was considerably better. Another participant described the JFK food this way:

“Food was incredibly mid”

These are individual travelers' reports, not an inspection or a representative customer survey. Their disagreement across locations is part of the story. Read the original discussion.

A separate April 20 post about a first visit to DFW complained about the jambalaya and soup. That traveler had previously used Sapphire lounges and premium-cabin lounges and found the comparison disappointing. It is one meal as described by one person. It is also a useful reminder of what Amex competes with now: the last good thing a customer ate elsewhere. The DFW traveler's account.

The names raise the stakes

Amex's own Culinary Collective lists Kwame Onwuachi, Mashama Bailey, Michael Solomonov and Sarah Grueneberg, with Helen Johannesen overseeing the wine selection. Its website says the program operates at select lounges and that menus can change and vary by location. That is a real investment in food, and it deserves to be evaluated as one. The official Culinary Collective description.

But a recipe and a guest's lunch are different things. People experience the portion available when they arrive, the condition of the buffet and the taste of the meal in front of them. A brochure cannot sit that exam on the kitchen's behalf.

Some of the argument is also about presentation. A January Reddit discussion proposed more individually plated dishes, arguing that rivals make their food look more appealing. Replies promptly complicated that theory: several travelers preferred Centurion's food, and others said attractive small plates at competing lounges had disappointed them. The small-plates debate.

A tiny bowl is not a culinary qualification. Neither is a buffet tray an automatic conviction.

What a premium buffet should get right

The standard should be less glamorous and more demanding: food that tastes good, a useful choice of dishes, clear labels, prompt replenishment and a place to eat without juggling a plate on your knee. A traveler who wants vegetables and a decent hot meal is not asking for a tasting menu. A traveler who likes the buffet is not necessarily deluding themselves, either.

Amex should take the complaints seriously without treating every disappointed Reddit post as proof that every lounge has collapsed. The same principle applies to cardholders. Judge your regular airports, your usual meal times and several visits if you have them. One sensational review cannot describe a network; a pattern on your own trips can tell you whether the benefit still works for you.

For a brand selling a premium experience, “better than being hungry at the gate” is a miserable target. The chef roster raises expectations. The plate has to meet them.

Related lounge guides

The Centurion Lounge (JFK) · The Centurion Lounge (DFW) · The Centurion Lounge (LHR).